Not big profit...but big fun!

I did two jobs this week for old customers for not a lot of money, but they were fun!

My two employees performed well today. We did 104 green island ficus and sod work with soil work. Two separate jobs.

We were working out there in the mid-day sun. Hot as hell!

Nearly three years...Plants From Paradise is growing up. I've learned a lot. I've got two great employees. I've got a powerful truck, a 20' trailer, a 10' trailer. Some capital to invest and everything is paid off.

So I've had success. It's been fun, most of all. Perhaps there are many other ways to a great fortune. But I'm in love with the act of planting trees.

Academics and physical activity. The contemplative and the active. Yin and yang, I suppose.

Can bamboo help reduce global warming?

Check it out while it's still up.

Not only do the hairy plants capture carbon, they "collect dust and dirt out of the air and make the rain fall more gently on the ground," says Gib Cooper, a nurseryman in Gold Beach, Ore., and executive director of Bamboo of the Americas, a conservation-action organization. "I hate to say it: The world's population and economy are going to outpace whatever we try to do. But bamboo will help."

--

It's nice to feel like you are doing something to help the earth. The enormity of the situation shouldn't make us give up hope though. We can all help in our own way. Planting bamboo is a wonderful idea.

----

"Unlike cotton, bamboo doesn't require pesticides to flourish. It needs modest amounts of water to thrive — some species rise a foot a day during growing season — and its root system can help stabilize hillsides and prevent erosion. When you harvest some of a stand's canes, the underground rhizomes survive and continue to quickly produce mature culms, unlike trees that die when chopped down."

----

I planted buddha belly in my backyard. FPL should plant it along the canals.

---

Plant some bamboo!

TREEmendous Miami

Check out a great charity in Miami-Dade:

TREEmendous Miami!

Maybe PlantsFromParadise should give them a helping hand?

Finished taxes

2007. My third time filing for Plants From Paradise.

In terms of money, 2006 was my strongest year...07 was even behind 05.

What does this mean? I know that I haven't been advertising enough for Plants From Paradise, but that's okay. I have customers who call me back years later. I have a long-term view of this and I'm not out to grab a quick buck. In 30 years, I'll be known as an expert of plants in South Florida.

We the Best

So when the other landscaping company leaves you high and dry, who you gonna call?

Me.

Markus.

Earnest.

"We the best."


Who else will make a terrible job look presentable???? 786-877-4573.

I'm back in landscaping!

Always have a contract...don't leave Dade county unless it's a sure thing!

From my last job:

• Don't leave Dade county unless the price is substantial.
• Always agree on EXACTLY what is to be done.

So I had to return to Broward to remove VINES from a fence. Mistakes happen in business...gotta move on!

My plan? Put an advertisement in the Crossings Signal.

Square watermelons

Look at the beautiful oak behind my grandparents.

Energy conservation

http://www.dreamingreen.org/

This charity seems beneficial. Helping schools become more energy efficient is a noble goal.

Trust me, as a teacher I know schools could save a bit of money on electricity! We keep ac so cold that teachers bring in space heaters.

Idiotic.

A hobby or a business?

Perhaps when I first started off with Plants From Paradise I jumped too quickly at some jobs.

http://selfmadechick.com/2007/12/31/5-things-i-had-to-unlearn-to-become-self-made/

is a great post from a...self made chick, I suppose...about how to become successful.

Self-promotion IS key. No one wants to hire an insecure whiner. Confidence is the key.

2007 was a rebuilding year

I had some success and some failures this year.

Failures:

• Not able to fix broken pipe.
• Not enough employees.
• Google adwords was sending me to Broward (even Palm Beach once)!

Successes:

• Redesigned plantsfromparadise.com
• Took a Horticulture course at Miami Dade College.
• Blogged about environmentalism and landscaping consistently.
• Not needing to grovel for work. My price.
  

Lose the lawn!

Here's an interesting concept:

http://www.losethelawn.com/gallery.php

Forget about having to mow and maintain that grass, lose the lawn!

Personally I'm going to make this my goal.

Damn Interesting » Space Radio: More Static, Less Talk

Damn Interesting » Space Radio: More Static, Less Talk

Ten trillion stars for every man, woman, and child...

Amazing.

don't waste water

Tamarac City Commissioner Patte Atkins-Grad was miffed last Thursday when Broward officials met to discuss the region's water shortage -- at a breakfast meeting where many people never touched their glasses of water.

''This is a water summit, and it irritates me to see all this wasted water,'' she told the crowd.

Atkins-Grad has encouraged restaurants in Tamarac to stop serving water to diners unless they ask for it.

Speakers talked about the need for Broward cities to work together to find additional sources of water, including waterless urinals and treating salty water.

But no one talked about the cost. Chip Merriam, deputy executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, has said in the past that the price to develop new sources of water could cost billions.

------

How about we 1. limit development, 2. encourage native plantings 3. discourage car washing, golf, waste 4. save the everglades.

oh and drink yo water.

Spectacular image!

Awe-inspiring.

No foresight

Ailing oak tree saved from developer's chop

An oak tree set to be razed received a stay of execution Tuesday -- to the chagrin of a Coconut Grove developer.

Posted on Fri, Nov. 09, 2007

BY DAVID SMILEY

dsmiley@MiamiHerald.com

In Coconut Grove, things can get a little emotional when it comes to trees. That's why activists turned up at a city of Miami hearing Tuesday to fight for a scraggly oak that stands in the way of a developer's driveway.

Anthony Rubino, whose duplex in the 2800 block of Shipping Avenue remains off the market because the tree has prevented him from laying a driveway and sidewalk, wants to raze the oak, located on the public right-of-way.

But the city denied his request, leading Rubino to appeal to the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board Tuesday, where in a scene reminiscent of a daytime courtroom drama, Rubino went toe to toe with activists over the fate of the tree.

The developer, who says he initially wanted to relocate the tree, provided years' worth of pictures of the tree and testimony from arborist Lisa Hammer that said the tree ''is in fair condition at best'' and should be removed.

''I'll relocate it now if you want me to,'' he told the board. ``I'll do it, but it will die.''

But the TreeWatch Committee of the Cocoanut Grove Village Council and the Tree-Man Trust countered that the tree is sick because of construction-related damage -- which Hammer disagreed with -- its death is hardly imminent and besides, driveways are overrated.

Miami's Historic and Environmental Preservation Board agreed.

Members voted 5-2 that the tree should stay.

''The duplex should have been designed to accommodate the tree where it is,'' said Board member Gerald Marston.

Rubino said he was given the runaround by politically connected activists who used their influence to pressure city officials into saving the tree.

Public Works Assistant Director Francis Mitchell said the tree must be removed but he could not issue a permit because he would lose his job if Liliana Dones of TreeWatch and Jim McMaster of the Tree-Man Trust disagreed, Rubino wrote in his appeal.

Mitchell would not comment on the statement after the meeting.

''I don't have the power to have Francis Mitchell fired and neither does Jim, but we're very flattered,'' Dones said Friday.

Mitchell told the board that Rubino had left out the tree's location on site plans when the duplex and driveway designs were approved.

Rubino said the omission of the tree's location was an oversight.

The developer, who last year received permits to remove two trees from the property, said he didn't pull a permit for the oak because he wanted to see how the tree would fare before deciding to remove or relocate it.

That got him into hot water with Board Chairman Timothy Barber.

'We don't want people to do the `wait and see,' '' he said.

Marsten said Rubino was playing a shell game.

''It seems to me you were proposing to plant that tree in front of someone's front door and have them remove it,'' he said.

On Friday, Rubino said he wishes now that he had removed the tree when he first bought the property and was disappointed that the issue became more about the circumstances surrounding the tree removal than about the actual health of the tree.

''I'm disappointed it went that way because it took the focus off the tree and the facts of [Hammer's] report,'' he said.

Rubino said his tree woes comes at a time when Grovites are outraged at the federal government, which last September cut down a number of trees at the Grand Avenue Post Office. The post office was fined $10,000 by Miami's Code Enforcement. As of Friday, the fine had not been paid.

Arborist Pierre Sands said people should treat trees as if they were a dying relative.

''I take it personally,'' he said.

---------

It's nice to see people fighting so hard for trees. I love the old oak trees in Coral Gables and the Grove. Too bad the developer didn't use more foresight.

Hands-on education

The horticulture class at MDC taught by Ron Mossman has been a great experience! The combination of classroom instruction and hands-on work in the nursery has been very pleasant.

We've grafted trees, grown from cuttings, and divided plants from the roots. Week by week, I've watched my work grow before my eyes. I'd highly recommend it!

The loss in income from the business has been noticeable but it is for a good reason. I'm learning a great deal about plants and next year I will continue my education with a class in plant identification! I'm looking forward to that greatly.

Ways of reducing toxins in your home

Here is a great link about how to reduce toxins in your home:

http://www.gdrc.org/uem/stat-plants.html

Pothos is so common down here!

Neat

Cool link. Great tree shapes.

Air layering

We learned how to air-layer a tree today. I loved it!

I think I'd like to make a mist house in my backyard. I have a really large backyard, so a tiny mist house won't be any problem at all.

My landscaping class

The Introduction to Horticulture class taught by Ronald Mossman is awesome. I'm learning so much about how biologists categorize plants. We've practiced with local plants.

The first test is on the 19th of September.

My goal is to become a Florida Certified Landscape Designer!

This guy knows how to get things done!

The Jatropha = Energy?

“This plant will save humanity, I tell you.”

The person who said that is O.P. Singh, a horticulturist for the railway ministry of India. What plant is he talking about? A shrubby weed called jatropha, whose seeds contain an oil that Singh and others believe may power the biofuel revolution. Here’s how the Journal’s Patrick Barta puts it:

With oil trading at roughly $70 a barrel, this lowly forest plant is suddenly an unlikely star on the world’s alternative-energy stage. The seeds from jatropha’s golf-ball-size fruit contain a yellowish liquid similar to palm oil that can be made into biodiesel … But unlike other biodiesel crops, jatropha can be grown almost anywhere — including deserts, trash dumps, and rock piles. It doesn’t need much water or fertilizer, and it isn’t edible. That means environmentalists and policy makers don’t have to worry about whether jatropha diverts resources away from crops that could be used to feed people.

Barta’s article also includes some Goldman Sachs data on the estimated cost per barrel of fuel made from a variety of sources:

Cellulose: $305
Wheat: $125
Rapeseed: $125
Soybean: $122
Sugar Beets: $100
Corn: $83
Sugar Cane: $45
Jatropha: $43

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/24/will-this-weed-really-save-humanity/

-----

Imagine the Jatropha (which we sell!) creating energy for our planet! It's a beautiful concept and I hope it comes to fruition.

Taken from the Times in Britain...

Walking to the shops ‘damages planet more than going by car’

Dominic Kennedy

Walking does more than driving to cause global warming, a leading environmentalist has calculated.

Food production is now so energy-intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shops than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate could benefit if people avoided exercise, ate less and became couch potatoes. Provided, of course, they remembered to switch off the TV rather than leaving it on standby.

The sums were done by Chris Goodall, campaigning author of How to Live a Low-Carbon Life, based on the greenhouse gases created by intensive beef production. “Driving a typical UK car for 3 miles [4.8km] adds about 0.9 kg [2lb] of CO2 to the atmosphere,” he said, a calculation based on the Government’s official fuel emission figures. “If you walked instead, it would use about 180 calories. You’d need about 100g of beef to replace those calories, resulting in 3.6kg of emissions, or four times as much as driving.

“The troubling fact is that taking a lot of exercise and then eating a bit more food is not good for the global atmosphere. Eating less and driving to save energy would be better.”

Mr Goodall, Green Party parliamentary candidate for Oxford West & Abingdon, is the latest serious thinker to turn popular myths about the environment on their head.

Catching a diesel train is now twice as polluting as travelling by car for an average family, the Rail Safety and Standards Board admitted recently. Paper bags are worse for the environment than plastic because of the extra energy needed to manufacture and transport them, the Government says.

Fresh research published in New Scientistlast month suggested that 1kg of meat cost the Earth 36kg in global warming gases. The figure was based on Japanese methods of industrial beef production but Mr Goodall says that farming techniques are similar throughout the West.

What if, instead of beef, the walker drank a glass of milk? The average person would need to drink 420ml – three quarters of a pint – to recover the calories used in the walk. Modern dairy farming emits the equivalent of 1.2kg of CO2 to produce the milk, still more pollution than the car journey.

Cattle farming is notorious for its perceived damage to the environment, based on what scientists politely call “methane production” from cows. The gas, released during the digestive process, is 21 times more harmful than CO2 . Organic beef is the most damaging because organic cattle emit more methane.

Michael O’Leary, boss of the budget airline Ryanair, has been widely derided after he was reported to have said that global warming could be solved by massacring the world’s cattle. “The way he is running around telling people they should shoot cows,” Lawrence Hunt, head of Silverjet, another budget airline, told the Commons Environmental Audit Committee. “I do not think you can really have debates with somebody with that mentality.”

But according to Mr Goodall, Mr O’Leary may have a point. “Food is more important [to Britain’s greenhouse emissions] than aircraft but there is no publicity,” he said. “Associated British Foods isn’t being questioned by MPs about energy.

“We need to become accustomed to the idea that our food production systems are equally damaging. As the man from Ryanair says, cows generate more emissions than aircraft. Unfortunately, perhaps, he is right. Of course, this doesn’t mean we should always choose to use air or car travel instead of walking. It means we need urgently to work out how to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of our foodstuffs.”

Simply cutting out beef, or even meat, however, would be too modest a change. The food industry is estimated to be responsible for a sixth of an individual’s carbon emissions, and Britain may be the worst culprit.

“This is not just about flying your beans from Kenya in the winter,” Mr Goodall said. “The whole system is stuffed with energy and nitrous oxide emissions. The UK is probably the worst country in the world for this.

“We have industrialised our food production. We use an enormous amount of processed food, like ready meals, compared to most countries. Three quarters of supermarkets’ energy is to refrigerate and freeze food prepared elsewhere.

A chilled ready meal is a perfect example of where the energy is wasted. You make the meal, then use an enormous amount of energy to chill it and keep it chilled through warehousing and storage.”

The ideal diet would consist of cereals and pulses. “This is a route which virtually nobody, apart from a vegan, is going to follow,” Mr Goodall said. But there are other ways to reduce the carbon footprint. “Don’t buy anything from the supermarket,” Mr Goodall said, “or anything that’s travelled too far.”

==============

As you think about your life and its environmental impact on the world consider what you are eating. Meat uses more energy and is worse for the environment! Think about how expensive food can sometimes be the worst for you!

a new direction

A new direction...

I am going to be taking some classes concerning landscaping design. Basically up to this point I have been working with my uncles, a few helpers, my brother at times, and my cousin. I've done a good job and I'm proud of what Plants From Paradise has become.

But I want to be more involved in the creative side of designing. Plant brokering turns beautiful living trees into a commodity. It's all dollars and no sense.

I've got a lot I bring to the table. I'm confident the design courses at MDC will teach me a great deal and I know I'll be able to find customers easily. Whereas I developed a small reputation for brokering and small installations, soon I'll have a following for design.

It should be great fun and I look forward to it!

Giving plants a voice!

Listen to this people: water your plants! They'll tell you when! Really cool link.

Einstein says...

Cool tree

Leaf blowers

Who knew that a single leaf blower operated for an hour could have as much impact as 80 cars!

READ IT!

Lightning

Lightning kills, even when there are clear skies.

This landscaper died and there was no rain.

The conflict between labor and efficiency

Look at this:
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/06/robo_picker

Robots may soon be picking oranges! Just think!

I think that most people are in favor of such time-saving devices. Still we should take time to ask what will happen to the people who make their living picking fruit. As a society we should at least think about retraining.

Many reasons why you should not drink bottled water

In a word: wasteful.

Read here for a better explanation.

Real?

Look at this beautiful tree.

The future

Watch Al Gore's film. Plant a tree. Or two. Or a forest.

It's the future.

Controlling tree height?

Imagine if nurseries could control how tall trees were?

Check this out!

Amazing. Powerful!

Tropical Flowering Tree Society

Wow! This looks like a great association. Check it out if you are interested in flowering trees.

Who isn't interested in flowering trees?

Environmental positions

The rainy-season is upon us and we are all thankful in South Florida. Even the weathermen and weatherwomen (funny how the spell-checker doesn't recognize that word) are appreciative of the rain.

South Florida has gotten extremely crowded. Imagine how SoFla has been transformed in 100 years! Amazing.

I'm hearing good things about Gov. Crist's appointments. Let's hope we can keep the environment on our minds, not merely development.

--

In my personal landscaping plan, I'm taking down two invasive trees on the side of my home. Unfortunately the county has given me no direction. The typical joke: one department gave me the number of the department which just gave me that number. It's an endless loop.

Except I think the loop should be ended by THEM. They should pay for the trees to be taken down!

---

I've got a new design for www.plantsfromparadise.com

I'm thinking of some off-line advertising. The only other advertising off-line so far has been the "Flyer". That wasn't very good. I'll have to be creative.

Excited about my new forum

Everyone...Let's Talk About Plants!

Planting for the long haul

Nurseries aren't a get rich quick scheme. You plant in anticipation of getting a return on your money in months or years.

Landscapers have to think in similar terms. Many trees I plant will outlive me. This is a fact I realize but now that I'm planting oaks in my own yard I am faced with the reality on a tangible level. I'll watch these oaks get bigger and if they are planted in the wrong spot, I'll have to deal with them down the road.

I saw a gigantic oak in my neighborhood tonight and I wondered if it pre-dated the subdivision. It was beautiful and when the oaks I planted are that big they'll be too big for where they are planted! Perhaps the oak is 104 years old though.

Should I have moved the oak in anticipation of something so far off?

No, because I can always trim it to keep it smaller. If I keep it trimmed correctly, I am not scared of an oak falling on anyone's home.

I love Live Oaks.

Oaks to help reduce energy costs.

Florida ranks fifth in municipal energy use per capita due to the continuous use of air conditioning and pool pumps. It is estimated that only 1% of energy in the state is generated through renewable resources.

--From Wikipedia's entry on the state of Florida.

This is sorry folks and we can do better. I'm planting oak trees around my home for protection from storms and for shade. With more shade I'll have to use less air conditioning!

Oaks are extremely strong in hurricanes if pruned properly!

--

Broke a pipe on a plant installation today. Mistakes happen but we made it right for the customer. My employees and I aren't perfect but we'll never leave the job unfinished.

Lots of exciting projects...

I've got lots of great ideas!

• First of all, I started up www.letstalkaboutplants.com and I'm inviting all my readers to post questions about plants! It should be lots of fun!
• I'm creating www.miamiplantdelivery.com for strictly plant deliveries. It's interesting to think of the categories. It's fun.
• Plantsfromparadise.com is back up and running. Looking good! This will be a site for people to examine different landscaping looks. I will post pictures of landscaping jobs and references of customers.

I will invite my former customers to participate but instead of writing a mass email, I should just write brief introductions.

Coral Gables: Update on Whole Foods

Coral Gables: Update on Whole Foods

healthy food coming to the Gables!

A new forum about plants...

Hello Readers!

I created a forum at www.letstalkaboutplants.com to discuss plants and trees! Create a login and password and start discussing plants and trees!

David

Leaves are returning to the gumbos

The gumbo limbos in my front and backyard are starting to grow their leaves back. It's a beautiful sight! Nature's rebirth after the long hard 70 degree winter.

Ahhh, winter in Miami.

Growing potatoe in a pot

Food you grow yourself does taste better!

Beautiful baobab tree

Awesome power of nature.

I recommend you check out Ravi's blog!

He discusses consumer affairs, public policy, and international affairs. Check out a great blog!

Just a cute picture...

http://www.thecuteproject.com/photos/1028/floppy.dog.ear.makes.fantastic.hat.or.blanket%21/

The most beautiful trees in the world

You won't believe some of these trees!

Ag tourism and an update on local eating.

Agricultural tourism? Great idea!

We can turn the canals of South Florida into tropical landscapes. People will think of the suburbs as a tropical Venice. People can rent kayaks or paddle boats. I can be a dreamer at times, I know.

We have a lot in South Florida.

I'm still planning my banana/lychee/mango/orange/avocado/calomandon garden is moving along. Basically I'd like to begin installing within a month.

Take care, all. Doesn't get much more local than that.

Who can you trust?

There is an article about the value of trusting the judgments of crowds. Digg, ebay, amazon all rely on users to give feedback about the sites. Problem is, people find fraud easy and they can get away with it.

I've always dreamed of a site where people can interact with other buyers and KNOW that the other buyers had actually worked with the sellers. It would have to entail a system of secret codes entered after the transaction had taken place. I feel this idea is coming although I doubt I'm the person to set it in motion.

No one has started an auction site for labor online either. I suppose the "employees" of the world need the employers to tell them what to do. Also people trust one companies to their homes. They might not trust the lowest price. Anyone can sell price.

Trust takes time!

The Beauty of Plants

The Beauty of Animals

The beauty of life.

I use that many gallons of gas per year???

This is a great site to see how much carbon you use each year.

Driving all those plants and trees around South FL sure does use a lot of carbon. Fortunately we are collectively working towards making it a greener place.

Ready to help make Miami a greener place!

According to this article Miami is sorely lacking in canopy. We need more trees! We gotta breathe!

I'm baaaack

It's been a while. I've had stuff to do...moving into my new home, other projects. Plants to install.

First of all, look at this.

China is growing jatrophas for fuel. We can sell some jatrophas, we usually sell them to people looking for beauty not fuel.

Efficient salesmanship

I've been getting inquiries from Google searches. It feels good to be recognized as a worthwhile link without paying for it :)

Had some great experiences selling jobs lately. Otherwise my truck is getting fixed and soon I'll be back in the swing of things.

The Internet makes it harder to separate the person from the venture.

Perhaps I'd be interested in hiring some go-getters to help with sales.

Interesting Fact

Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty years of age or older.
-------
Old trees are a treasure.

My truck is out of commission

For the next few days Plants From Paradise will be on hiatus. My truck has a busted rear end. It seems the dealership doesn't want to pay for it. So we have a disagreement.

Things were a bit slow before that anyways. Still I've been pursuing a few other directions. Learning Flash.

Better Living Through Buying Less

Big business is doing more for the environment.

I am doing my part for the environment: I purchase few "things."

We all need to take the true costs of our purchases into account. The oil to transport the goo. The energy to purchase it. To dispose of it.

We'd be better off all buying less.

Take care of the trees you have and then see me about buying new ones :)

It's funny. We talk about "owning" trees. Many of the trees will be around long after their owners.

Happy New Year!

Here's a beautiful oak tree to fill you with joy!

What it is all about...

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

-Joyce Kilmer

Not getting paid

Sometimes you have people who can't pay after the work is done. Luckily most of my customers have been great. I'm going to give them some time before I take other action, but it would be nice if I could just get my fair share for the job I did.

The question is a deep one. Who deserves better pay, the marketer or the accountant? How much are teachers worth? How much is a president worth?

I donated; you should too

Check them out. It's really an amazing charity. PlantsFromParadise.com donated to them!

I donated; you should too

Check them out. It's really an amazing charity. PlantsFromParadise.com donated to them!

The "Little Guy"

Although I recently professed a desire to export to the Caribbean. True, but meeting a woman who devoted her life to helping sick doggies was pretty inspiring. A few trees but it was a great experience.

New marketing approach

In the upcoming month I will be contacting major hotels throughout Latin America concerning the shipment of plants. I can broker the plants at a better price: we grow the best quality in the world!

Exporting

Since we've been exporting plants all across the world, I realized it makes to advertise with google in the countries where the plants are going. I think this is a great way to make contacts and I am encouraged business will boom.

Things have been incredibly busy for plantsfromparadise!

I didn't take on a project to set up an indoor landscape at the Miami Beach Convention Center. To be honest, it wasn't very appealing to work with the people who charge you to plug in a light. No one had anything positive to say about working at the Convention Center. But it was a beautiful design.

I'm expecting big things from this new ad campaign.

Natural spaces

I can help you achieve this.

New nails could save homes!

You seriously need to check out this article:
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/flat/bown/2006/innovator_5.html

It isn't the wood that gives out in hurricanes- it is the nails.

Big time.

Also check out this article about Los Angeles giving up on palms in a big way. They cost too much to maintain and there isn't enough shade. The fact that they are iconic isn't weighing on the decision.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/us/26palm.html?em&ex=1164690000&en=67b0cb779e8f2873&ei=5087%0A

Check out the links while you can.

Cool idea

What a cool idea!

Lots of fruit trees. I'm going to do this at my new home.

The Garden Guy Furor

The Garden Guy is stupid.

That's all I have to say about that.

Plants From Paradise will be donating...

Seems like a worthy cause.

Plants From Paradise will be donating for 10 trees.

Feeling like the Internet can solve anything

You know when you read this:
http://www.omnidrive.com/

You start to think the Internet and our collective consciousness will solve any problem we encounter.

I don't like to think of needing plants as a problem, it's more of a desire. But it IS a problem if we don't have any plants in South Florida.

Think about the earth....

According to this we will run out of resources by 2050.

Whether or not the link is active, consider how you are hurting the earth.

Most rewarding experience

The many joys of planting a tree.

In the drizzling rain as the sun is going down. Nothing beats the smell of the dirt.

Seeing the customer love the trees.

This has been a great ride. I'm loving it!

Similar to my experiences

This guy in England made a web site about asbestos removal.

Truth is he had tons of calls but knew nothing about it! His experience is similar to mine with MiamiJunkRemoval....But he continued his and made it quite profitable. I let MiamiJunkRemoval lapse.

I already had a plan with Plants From Paradise and I loove plants.

But it's a good article anyways.

Finished the mall

The Hot Dog Stand in Plantation is finished. It was a good project but it taught me that landscape architects don't always select the best plants or even have good plans.

Live and learn.

Success...and more success!

Truth is Plants From Paradisers that I got my trailer into a situation that I couldn't get it out of!

I broke a tile on a patio and I needed a lot of time to get it out. I'm upset with myself and I told the customer to take it off the bill. I'm completely sincere.

But I learned an important lesson though. Saving a few minutes of work can not be an obsession. Though I value efficiency, I must always emphasize the possibility that things don't work out. It's on my mind. No one doesn't make mistakes.

There is a commercial that some of you might last night. This guy needs new windows and he calls "some guy" from the phone book. The guy is fat and can only be described as a redneck. He bungles the entire job and the windows fall out. The other guy calls the window people from the commercial and gets an amazing job.

One problem. When you call the owner who is experienced you ARE likely to get good service. When you call a giant company you are likely to get someone who hates his job. It's not as simple as just running commercials and buying nice shirts that you get instant credibility. At least not to me.

I'm building my credibility one day at a time. It feels good too.

By the way, I miss the junk collection business but it was for the best. Focusing on landscaping and brokering was eminently smarter.

The typical millionaire

There is hope cubicle dwellers:

http://www.thenewatlantis.com/archive/13/crawford.htm

You've got to learn how to think.

Sometimes we all make mistakes. I was in a bit of a hurry and I turned my truck around when my tailgate was down. I have to pay the price: I'll need a new tailgate. My uncle will say "You've got to learn how to think!" after someone does something stupid. I deserve that today.

Otherwise business is good and I've been getting lots of hits lately. We all make mistakes, it's how we deal with them that counts.

Pickers are Few and Growers Blame Congress

Article in the NYT.com about the lack of migrant workers and the rotting fruit. This is something we need to seriously consider: America we still need workers willing to labor in the hot sun. If you want to pay 5 dollars for an apple, hire college graduates to pick the fruit.

I just love working...

I'm trying a new marketing plan. Free installation...

I've never tried such a plan before. Basically I just love working and I'm a little confused why the calls have declined from Google Adwords. Perhaps it's just an inevitable lull. Perhaps tomorrow...

Politics and Business Blogging Intersect

Republicans back "Lawn Care Bill".

Thank you Onion.

A brief update

A letter I received yesterday:
David,

I am SOOOO happy with the yard. I took a few pics and thought you might like to have them as before/after. Also, is there somewhere on your site I can leave feedback? I'd love to tell others what a pleasant experience I've had and how knowledgable and kind you are.

Have a great weekend!

The customer is always right... :)

I'm working on a forum for such things. Also I'm working on miamiplantdelivery.com.

education

"If you are thinking a year ahead, sow a seed. If you are thinking ten years ahead, plant a tree. If you are thinking one hundred years ahead, educate the people."
Chinese Proverb

Success :)

Looks like my Craigslist ad has been quite a hit. LOTS OF INQUIRIES FOR JUNK.

My confidence as an Internet marketer is GROWING.

Rest assured, plants are still my priority. I'm taking a trip to Central Florida to get some more citrus this weekend. Stick around for my big announcement! Soon I'll be advertising for citrus!

Misrepresenting....

The problem with collecting people's unwanted stuff is they completely misrepresent how much stuff they have.

"Oh it's just a washer and a few pallettes."

No it's about a garbage truck worth of wood that was so high the washer wasn't visible. I just kept driving and lost the gas it took to get out there. If anything I would've charged $200 and I could've gotten it all with my trailer. But that was miscommunication. Communication is why I write this blog.

On the landscaping side of things, I've gotten some great call-backs lately. It's wonderful to hear from old customers.

Removed the remainder of a man's life

A man died and brother and I helped remove his earthly possessions. It was poigniant.

I didn't know what to expect when I started Miami Junk Removal. But it's been an amazing learning experience. Five jobs to date. About four landscaping jobs coming up. In the middle of one. But still less than when houses were selling like crazy...

Creating vs. taking roll

I'm a bit of an academic person. I have a tendency to read www.aldaily.com daily and I am within striking distance of a second master's degree.

Well. I just got an email yesterday on the listserve that makes think twice about being a professional student. This woman already has two master's degrees AND a PhD and she is now working on her second doctorate.

She's not going to make any great discoveries at this point. This is almost selfish!

But designing a yard. Planting flowers. Using heavy equipment to plant large trees. The whole process requires knowledge and the end result is so beautiful. School lead to many things but it isn't the only path. Also when you divorce school from all practicality you get stagnation.

Other people are interested in garbage!

Look at all these people turning junk into gold. Seriously!

Planting vs. garbage collecting

I discovered there IS a market for serious junk removal in Dade county. Truth is it will always remain second to plants and trees. Even if I could rake in the money I would rather focus on landscaping! I'll keep the google ad up and take the calls that fit my schedule...but I'm saying people really don't like touching garbage and they'll pay to get it removed. Potential business, if you want it. Most don't I imagine. Let's say, most who read blogs in their spare time probably don't. But it's an open idea if you want to make a few bucks.

The high cost of gas makes me think in terms of efficiency and I've met some cool customers. I've relieved them of their burdens and gotten paid pretty decently. My truck didn't mind the extra load :) But it isn't my passion.

Why become a customer?

I started this blog as just another outlet to discuss commerce and the ins-and-outs of running a business. But as I'm linking from my business site I'm also trying to sell a product. This post will be a brief look into why I feel ordering landscaping or plants from Plants From Paradise is a smart move.

First of all I'm lower priced than most retail nurseries and the big box chain stores. There's nothing wrong with a plumbago from Home Depot but you might pay close to 9 bucks after taxes. Also you have to lug it around and bring it back to your house. I'm cheaper and I'll deliver it. You'll love the quality.

But I'm not the cheapest either. If you are looking for a pure commodity, drive down Krome Avenue in Miami and stop into any one of the nurseries. Quality differs immensely. Some places will sell the nastiest things you've ever seen and some are quite good. I've gotten to know the business and I know which nurseries deliver quality. But you have to get that education for yourself and you might not want to invest the time into it. Also, is the minimal break in price worth all the driving and hassles?

I do have a slight competitive advantage. Our nursery is one of the best around! People have been coming for a long time and now I've got an online venture which has been successful for the past year.

That covers plant delivery. But why trust Plants From Paradise to design a landscape? First of all, I know the plants and trees. I know what they need to grow. I know where to plant them. I'm never going to promise something I can't deliver. I have fun designing it and putting it from conception to reality. It's a beautiful thing.

This business has a low cost to entry and anyone can pretend to be an expert. Ask tough questions of anyone promising things that will be part of your home for potentially decades! I'm confident that as my customer list grows and grows, Plants From Paradise will earn even better business from referrals and I'll need to hire managers instead of just landscapers to install.

View of Mr. Stinky's Webcam

If you don't go to Fairchild and you live in Miami...I say shame on you! You are missing a beautiful experience!

Here's a webcam of a Mr. Stinky in Brooklyn:
http://bbg.org/vis2/2006/titan/webcam/

What will we do with all those lawn mowers?

SO many people work to cut yards. SO many people build lawn mowers. But this article claims they are close to developing grass that doesn't grow past a certain size:
http://www.hhmi.org/news/chory20060504.html

Amazing. I don't know what to think.

Hurricane Palms

My business blog started off so strong and I let it lapse for four days. Hmm...I was busy with plants and I couldn't get a chance to get to it.

I have been noticing so many dead queen palms outside of people's homes from the past hurricanes. Don't they want to have living trees? Also wouldn't they want to plant trees that do well in hurricanes? I'd recommend sable palms and alexander palms over queen palms!

Plant Progeny

Here's an article about plants and their ability to transmit information to their offspring:
http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060731/full/060731-16.html

Nature.com is a great site by the way!

David

The Royal Poinciana

The royal poinciana grows 4-5 feet per year once established and I've seen many fall down in storms. Nothing scientific, just my observations.

You'll spend a lot to maintain it...but when it's in bloom...WOW!

People love trees and plants

It's fun to do a landscaping job for someone who really loves plants.

The thing is, that's mostly everyone who calls or emails me. So people are usually really, really happy about their plants. Are things 100% perfect? No, of course not.

Actually I wanted to write about all the positive experiences but one negative experience jumps out at me. This is a good platform for me to give my side of the story.

A customer called for arecas. I gave her the sizes and prices. She said she had a row growing and that she needed two more. What could be easier?

I drive across town and show her the two best arecas I could find in the nursery. Her reaction? She says they are "too orange".

"Well, ma'am arecas in the sun usually take on an orange tint," I explained.

"No they don't."

So I noticed arecas all over the neighborhood. I walked across the street with her and showed her the orange looking areca fronds. She still didn't agree. She wanted something GREEN.

She pointed to a pygmy date palm and said she needs color like that.

"But that's a different species of palm."

Now she was mad at me for being persistent. "I KNOW that's a different species of palm. I can't use the palms. I'm sorry. Good bye."

I was so shocked at having to lift two heavy trees back on the truck. I have so many happy customers. I wanted to start dropping names and giving numbers about revenue and web presence and number of acres my family owns and their revenue...

But that would've been pointless. The customer is not always right but it is her right not to buy arecas if she doesn't want them. It seems stupid to refuse a perfectly good plant and waste my time and require me to drive all over town spewing gas fumes only to send them back for being orange when they get that way in the sun.

If she thought they were too small, I could accept that (even though they were overgrown). If she realized she was broke and she couldn't afford it, I could accept that (even though she lived in a big house). I could accept almost any reason for wasting so much of my time and gas, but slightly orange arecas? I mean the second result a google search brings up is this: "Leaves are ascending, curved at the apex with sheaths and petioles yellow or orange tinged."

If you don't believe your own eyes across the street, at LEAST believe google. If it's on the Internet, it has to be true.

Traditional Advertising

Today I went back to my roots. I passed out fliers with two helpers proclaiming a "Summer Sale!" It was so much fun to be riding around and meeting people. I'm excited to see what sort of responses I get.

Business as a creative force

I'm certainly enjoying this blog. Although I don't have readership now, I feel if I keep it up I'll gain readers. In this post I'll explain why I'm so confident of that. I'm riding a technological wave, and amazingly many aren't along for the ride.

I think the Internet is making some corporations much stronger but it is creating amazing new opportunities for individuals. Look at Home Depot and plants, for instance. Home Depot has fine plants and if someone needed just one 3 gallon plant that wouldn't be a bad place to go. It's efficient for such purchases. But most sales associates can't match the knowledge a 30 year grower has. They don't have hundreds of acres of stock on hand. They bring in stuff and slap a price tag on it. Someone who might not even know the type of plant scans it in and you put it in your minivan. Back up the supply chain...

The Internet opens up commerce for so many individuals. To think Craigslist lets people advertise for free (what will the newspapers do?). Google adwords gives me the same exposure as a multinational. Maybe Super Bowl advertising is important for some people and maybe advertising builds a sense of trust for people. Perhaps I'm underestimating the power of the brand because I'm in somewhat of a fragmented industry. No one company monopolizes landscaping or plant brokerage in South Florida.

Obviously this isn't restricted to trees. Moving and storage, logistics, microbrews, etc, specialized marketing on the Internet is a great enabler....I would like to move Plants From Paradise online beyond merely being a place for people to order plants or landscaping to becoming the place for design tips, discussion areas about plants, information how landscaping affects the environment and so on. I envison knowledge to be much more valuable to this undertaking as sweat and muscle.

Obviously landscaping is physical work. It gets hot in the summer and I'm on every job up to this point. True I have helpers and sometimes machines are needed, but it isn't the speed that I can dig a hole which will create anything of lasting value. Planning a landscape is process which requires intimate knowledge of the plants. Such skills aren't quite as fungible as the ability to rapidly dig a hole. (Not that I can't dig quickly- invite me to install a tree, I'll prove it-it's just that creating a landscaping plan and a successful business requires so much more.)

I'm looking forward to seeing where www.MiamiJunkRemoval.blogspot.com will go. It will be a profitable venture, I'm sure, and I can coordinate junk removal after landscaping jobs. The price of gas is FORCING us to become more efficient. Hopefully people won't view this foray into junk removal as a dilution of my goals with PlantsFromParadise.com, because it's merely a way to recoup some gas expenses. It'll be interesting: Bring in Beauty, Bring out Junk. I already have a motto.

In the meantime, I'm reading "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. I have to say I recommend it so far. I'd say I lived up to the title today, if you consider snorkeling in the Keys getting something done :)